Wifi Revolution

XACT Downhole Telemetry Inc. reportedly announced that it has completed deploying its acoustic telemetry Measurement While Drilling or MWD service in air drilled horizontal gas wells for Equitable Resources Inc.

 

The XACT system includes a full throughbore design and is an automated, solid state solution. The tool can be operated by rig crews themselves eliminating the dependence on MWD operators. Data can be transmitted from downhole to surface at the rate of 20 baud making it a rapid wireless update solution.

 

Comparing the XACT system with mud pulse systems, company officials said that the new system does not depend on non-compressible fluid in the pipe or use mud pumps for generating signals to the surface. XACT’s acoustic system also does not depend on formation type and can be used close to active coal mines or electromagnetic telemetry systems.

 

It is advantageous over conventional EM telemetry systems as it allows addition of sensor nodes along the drillstring enabling distributed measurements with drilling and tripping.

 

“We are very pleased to have the support of companies such as EQT who recognize the inherent advantages of our acoustic MWD system for their applications,” said James Neff, President and CEO of XACT Downhole Telemetry, in a statement. “This has led to the very successful completion of a 4 well trial in Kentucky for EQT.”

 

“These 7600 ft MD, air drilled horizontal wells, were drilled with a three node distributed acoustic MWD system with one primary tool located in the BHA plus two distributed stations in the drillstring. This is an industry first for MWD systems and marks significant advancement within the MWD industry,” Neff said.

 

Rod Vogel, director of drilling and completions engineering for EQT was pleased as EQT benefited a lot from the XACT MWD system. The full throughbore enables rapid drilling besides being augmented with features like fast toolface updates with auto decoding, the ability to recharge the tools onsite between wells, and the remote  communications capability, he said.

 

EQT plans to make drilling wells faster, safer and with less personnel on location. Also the distributed measurement nodes allow gathering real-time and recorded pressure data which optimizes the drilling operation. This system serves as a suitable alternative to EM MWD and wireline steering for systems which work in air, Vogel said.

 

Back to WiFi Revolution home